Photos of the 2018 USA ARDF Championships

by Tom Gaccione WB2LRH (TG), Ken Harker WM5R (KH), Woody Jackson (WJ) and Patrick Sears AK4JE (PS)

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Truckee, California lies along Interstate 80 near Donner Summit, one hundred miles northeast of Sacramento and 33 miles southwest of Reno, Nevada. (TG)


Truckee is a railroad town.  In addition to lots of freight, the Amtrak California Zephyr passes through and stops each day. (TG)


Old Town Truckee. (TG)


>Tahoe National Forest

The Tahoe National Forest is ideal for ARDF, with cool weather and few bugs. (WJ)


There's still a little snow, even in mid-June. (TG)


The mountain flora is beautiful. (WJ)


Most of the fauna is harmless, like this little guy. (TG)


Some of the critters are larger. (TG)


Nobody saw a bear, but they're out there! (TG)


A great group of volunteers put on these championships.  L to R are Woody Jackson, Bob Cooley KF6VSE (Course Designer), Tom Gaccione WB2LRH (Banquet Coordinator), Jay Hennigan WB6RDV (Meet Director) and Bob Houghton AD6QF. (TG)


Each competition day, participants drove to Little Truckee Summit where they parked, put on their orienteering clothes, and walked to the designated starting location. (WJ)


Most days were sunny, but there was a cold rain shower on Sunday morning as everyone walked to the start. (WJ)


Equipment was impounded near the start.  Competitors picked up their receivers ten minutes before their individual start times, but couldn't turn them on until they started. (WJ)


Competitor start times and the required transmitters for each age/gender category were posted in the waiting area. (PS)


With several persons of different age/gender categories in each group starting at five-minute intervals in the classic events, everyone was on the course within 55 minutes.  It was even faster for sprint and foxoring, where the interval is two minutes. (KH)


ARDF transmitters aren't "hidden." There is a flag and control station nearby in plain sight.  But in a forest of thousands of acres, they aren't easy to locate. (TG)


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HOMING IN logoThis page updated 5 November 2018